


Hermione's Birthday Surprise

by LSUsweetie



Series: It's So Fluffy — A Collection of Drabbles and Oneshots [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fairest of the Rare's Love Fest 2021, Fluff, Fred Weasley Lives, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, fairy safe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29268642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LSUsweetie/pseuds/LSUsweetie
Summary: On Hermione's seventeenth birthday, she discovers a set of three letters have been imprinted on her hip. To her annoyance, she's unable to make it to the library all day.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Fred Weasley
Series: It's So Fluffy — A Collection of Drabbles and Oneshots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2149440
Comments: 38
Kudos: 156
Collections: Love Fest 2021, Rare Pairs RHM Read for LoveFest





	Hermione's Birthday Surprise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Quartz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quartz/gifts), [ThePotterWatcher](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePotterWatcher/gifts), [moonfairy13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonfairy13/gifts).



> Written for #lovefest2021. 
> 
> Ladies, everyone in fandom needs a group of supportive friends like you. I wasn't going to include moonfairy in the gift since I put her to work editing this for me, but she deserves it too! Thanks for always being there!
> 
> Thanks so much to my lovely friend moonfairy13 for offering to quickly beta and Brit pick this story for me! And for her constant support and willingness to read everything that I write!
> 
> I also want to note that Fred most definitely will live. He’s saved by Hermione, of course, because that’s my favorite head canon! 
> 
> #LF2021 #TeamVenus

On the morning of her seventeenth birthday, Hermione rose early. She preferred to shower in peace before her roommates took over their shared bathroom. 

It was during her shower that she made the discovery. At first, she thought it was just an ink smudge. She couldn’t understand how she’d managed to get ink on her hip, but she’d found it in stranger places before. But as she scrubbed at the spot and nothing happened, she examined it more closely. 

There on her skin were three little letters, FGW. What in the world? What did it mean? She’d never heard of anything like this. If this happened to everyone on their birthday, wouldn’t she have been told by now?

She tried to ignore it, but she had this nagging feeling that it was something big. Throughout all of her classes that day, she wanted nothing more than to get to the library so she could research. But there just wasn’t time. Her schedule was packed, and during both breakfast and lunch, her friends had insisted that she hang around to celebrate her birthday.

And to her annoyance, Professor McGonagall asked her to stay behind when Transfiguration, her last class of the day, was finally over. 

As all of the other students filed out, she approached the Professor’s desk. “You asked me to stay, Professor McGonagall.”

The older woman smiled kindly. “I did, Miss Granger. I need you to accompany me to my office.”

Trying desperately to hide her displeasure at the inconvenience, Hermione nodded. “Yes ma’am. Can you tell me what this is about?”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for a few more minutes until we can get to my office. This is something that I would prefer to say in private.”

What else could possibly happen today? Surely, this couldn’t have anything to do with the letters that she’d found on her body this morning, could it?

Finally, they arrived at the office. The older woman ushered her inside, closing the door behind them. Instead of an empty room as Hermione had expected, there was someone she would have never expected waiting inside… Fred Weasley.

FGW… It all connected in her mind. Fred’s initials were on her hip. But how did they get there?

“Fred, is this a prank? I don’t know how you managed it when you don’t live in the castle anymore…”

“Miss Granger, there’s been no prank, but you obviously have some idea about why Mr. Weasley is here. When he arrived earlier with a story for me, I have to admit that I was sceptical at first. What he claimed is possible, of course, but I hadn’t heard of it happening for more than a hundred years.”

Now Hermione’s heart was pounding, what on earth was going on? It was obviously something to do with some kind of rare magic. But it wasn’t anything that she’d come across before in her studies. “I’m sorry, but what exactly is going on?” she demanded to know, her voice breaking a bit at the frustration she felt. Clearly, Fred already knew, as did Professor McGonagall. She did not like to be the last to know anything, and that went double for when it was something that involved her personally.

The professor’s head turned toward her, a look of shock on her face. “You truly don’t have any idea about why you’re here, do you? When Mr. Weasley arrived earlier, I assumed that you would have already been to the library even if you’d only made the discovery this morning.”

Hermione sighed deeply, trying to hold herself together. “No, I hadn’t had an opportunity to use the library today. I was going there as soon as Transfiguration was over.”

An amused look of comprehension crossed the older woman’s face. “That will be why you seemed so reluctant to accompany me to my office then.”

Feeling her face heat with embarrassment, Hermione wanted nothing more than to wake and learn that this was all just a bad dream. She couldn’t believe that she’d been so obvious. She’d never wanted to seem disrespectful.

The Professor continued, “I think then, it’s probably best if you and Mr. Weasley have this conversation on your own.” She turned to Fred. “A walk around the castle. The seventh floor, perhaps. It might be best to avoid the other students. They should all be going to dinner now.”

xXx

As soon as Fred closed the door of the Room of Requirement behind him, Hermione whirled on him. “You know what’s going on, Fred Weasley. How long have you known?”

“Can we sit down?” He gestured to the sofa that had appeared in the room, and murmured, “Please, I promise that I will explain everything that I know and answer all of your questions.”

With a huff that she knew was childish, Hermione sat on the sofa. It felt awful to not have all the information first. She looked at Fred expectantly as he joined her, and for the first time noticed how nervous he seemed. His knee bounced rapidly, his eyes darted around the room looking everywhere but at her, and he mindlessly picked at a thread that was slowly creating a hole in his magenta WWW robes.” 

Realising that this was as uncomfortable for him as it was for her, she took pity on him. With a little smile, Hermione took her wand from the sleeve of her robes and waved it in his direction murmuring a quick spell, the loose thread slipping through Fred’s fingers as the hole mended itself.

His eyes met hers in surprise. Then when he realised what she’d done, he grinned. “Thanks.”

Fred swallowed hard and without taking his eyes from her he opened his robes and began to unbutton his shirt. “What are you doing?”

He ignored the question, and when he had three buttons opened, he pulled his shirt aside; his finger brushing over the three letters imprinted above his heart.

Without conscious thought Hermione lurched forward, her hand coming up as if to touch him, but she stopped herself. His letters read, HJG. 

“You can touch them,” he whispered, his fingers wrapping around her wrist and gently guiding her hand toward his chest. Gingerly, she brushed just the tips of her fingers over the letters. A pleasant tingly sensation rushed through her body, and Fred clearly felt something too, because he hissed.

She jerked her hand away, “Did I hurt you?”

He shook his head, answering through gritted teeth, “No, it felt amazing.”

“Fred, I think you need to explain what you know. I’m a little scared.”

Sympathy flashed in his kind brown eyes, and he moved quickly, pulling her close to his side and wrapping his arm around her. Inexplicably, she melted into him, the tension immediately leaving her body. 

“They’re soul marks, Hermione.”

She wanted to turn and see his expression, but at the moment she wasn’t brave enough. Burrowing a little closer to his body, she asked. “What? What does that mean?”

He drew in a deep breath. “It means that we’re soul mates. We’re a perfect match.”

Her head pivoted up to look at him then, and she knew her expression was incredulous. “But soul mates don’t exist. That’s just like divination, an unproven bit of magic for those who like fairy tales, isn’t it?”

Swallowing hard, Fred shook his head. “If you had asked me on my seventeenth birthday when this appeared,” he traced the letters on his chest with the tip of his fingers, “I would have said the same thing. But now that I’ve researched extensively, I can tell you that it’s very real. You felt what happened when you touched my mark. Can you really deny it with such tangible evidence?”

“I mean, I felt something, but I don’t know that it’s infallible proof.” Merlin, now she really needed to research. She’d always been attracted to Fred on some level — anyone with eyes would see how good-looking he was. That didn’t prove anything, did it? 

He seemed like he wanted to say more, but she had something that was nagging at her. “Why didn’t you tell me when you worked it out?”

Sighing, he pulled her closer again, tucking her head under his chin. His chest rumbled as he spoke. “That year was so difficult for all of us. Dealing with Umbridge, everyone thinking that Harry was a liar, DA, George and I trying to get everything set up for the shop... it was just a lot. And by the time I was certain what the marks were, George and I were leaving. I just didn’t think that I could dump it all on you and then leave. Honestly, I didn’t know if I could leave you once I told you.”

Hermione nodded. He had a point, but she still needed more. Research, she would need to do her own research before she could completely wrap her head around all of this. 

Pulling away from Fred, she nearly cringed at the feeling of loss. Ignoring it, she looked the handsome wizard squarely in the eye. “This is a little difficult to process. I need time to research, to think. Could you leave that book with me, let me read everything for myself? I promise to owl you once I have and we can meet in Hogsmead or somewhere to talk if Professor McGonagall won’t let you come back.”

Fred’s crestfallen face nearly had her taking it all back. Instead, she sighed. “I’m not rejecting you, or whatever this turns out to be. I just need time to figure it all out for myself. It’s difficult for me to admit it, but the part that I’m struggling with the most is that I don’t know something that I need to know.”

He laughed, but it wasn’t unkind or even teasing. It sounded… relieved. She smiled sheepishly up at him and went willingly when he pulled her into a hug. 

“Can I ask for two things before I go then? You can say no if you’re not comfortable.”

Nodding against his chest, she waited to see what he wanted. 

“Is it alright if I see your mark, touch it if you’re comfortable? Is it somewhere that you’re okay with showing me?”

She considered his request for a moment and realised that she was curious about how it would feel when he touched the initials on her skin. Would it feel like it did when she touched his, that pleasant tingle? She suspected that it would be something more based on the way that Fred had reacted.

Without responding, she scooted out of his arms, stood, and removed her robes. Reaching behind her back, she unzipped her skirt and began pulling it down. Fred’s sharp intake of breath nearly made her giggle. She wondered what he was thinking. Tugging her skirt down just enough to expose her hip, she gestured toward his initials. 

With trembling hands, Fred reached toward her. His eyes silently asking if she was still okay. When she nodded, he made contact with her skin, lightly tracing the letters on her hip.

And that definitely wasn’t what she’d been expecting. Instead of the pleasant light tingling, she was overcome by an almost overwhelming desire for the wizard sitting in front of her. It was all she could do to stop herself from climbing onto his lap and snogging him senseless. 

As Fred withdrew his hand, and she hastily zipped her skirt back into place, Hermione took a moment to gather her thoughts. When she was capable of speech again, she asked, “What was the other thing?” hating how breathless she sounded.

Fred stood so that he was inches from her. With a single finger placed under her chin, he gently encouraged her to lift her face and look at him. When she complied and met his gaze, it seemed as if he was looking straight through her. His tongue darted out, wetting his lips before he asked, “May I kiss you?”

Rising up on her toes, she locked her arms around his neck. “Yes,” she whispered, her lips nearly touching his.

That single word was all it took. Fred hauled her against his body and lowered his mouth to hers in a sensual caress that made her desperate for more. Instinctively, her hand moved to the spot over his heart where her initials covered his skin. And when his fingers found her hip, brushing the mark through her clothes, she knew that she didn’t ever want to let him go.

  
  



End file.
